Essay Workshop

Selling Yourself In Words: The College Essay

This exciting hands-on workshop has been classroom tested in Long Island, New York City, and upstate New York schools to acclaim. Eddie Bell has 28 years of admissions experience and has read and evaluated thousands of college essays. He mentors graduate student writers working on advanced degrees and is a professional writer-poet-journalist with three books to his credit.

Introduction

All students can write an effective college essay if they follow a time-honored formula of thoughtful preparation, creative thinking, careful editing and external review.

Workshop Description

A good college essay can make the difference between acceptance and rejection to many selective colleges and universities. The essay may be the applicant’s only opportunity to sell themselves to an admission committee or to add personal dimension to their academic record. Many important judgments can be (and are) made about the applicant from the college essay: general writing ability, personality, self-image, level of vocabulary and word usage, and the ability to interpret and respond to written instructions. For these reasons, the college essay must be taken seriously and prepared carefully.

This workshop will teach the fundamental processes necessary for producing a well-written college admission essay. Some of the topics include: getting started, the writing coach, editing, and understanding your audience. Students will engage in a writing exercise that will introduce them to the concept of writing the lead to a mock personal essay, the all important beginning that makes the reader of the essay want to continue reading.